7 of 7"Bruised never broken" is the motto for Donwan's clothing company, PRPS.

&nbsp

Sitting in a '60s-era Autoweek T-shirt -- “I love that one because it has the helmet silhouette, and it's just really simple and to the point” -- designer Donwan Harrell discusses three of his passions: cars, clothes and culture. In practice, the three often and charmingly overlap, as Harrell strives to translate “car culture into clothing culture.”

The jeans sold under his premium-denim label, PRPS -- which caters to those who take their jeans seriously -- are reminiscent of and named after cars of yore. The Barracuda fit is straightest and roomiest; the Rambler is skinniest; the Demon is … matter of fact, read on to see what the man himself has to say.

(Spoiler alert: Skittles, old farts and egg rolls are involved.)

Mania for motor vehicles started because … My dad had two cars: a really puke-green Volkswagen Bug, just a terrible green, like pea-soup, with a black interior. What sparked my interest was his second purchase. He bought a van -- remember that van craze back in the early '70s, that whole LA-van craze? He bought this van and he souped it up -- side pipes, woodgrain steering wheel, shag rug, custom wood panels for the cupholders, lace-look spray painting, upgraded exhaust.

And back then, a lot of guys used to put these beveled, dark-shaded windows in different shapes toward the back. It was very much like 'The A-Team.' It was really loud, and awesome.

…he would race this van on Saturdays. In those days, people used to drag-race illegally. We would go to the drag strip and see [Ronnie] Sox and [Buddy] Martin, Dick Landy, Grumpy Jenkins.

I still go to this day, in the summer, with my kids.

Passion for fashion started because … My mother was an avid seamstress. She and family members on my dad's side worked for OshKosh B'Gosh. But she would sew on the weekends, just to showcase at the flea market. And I used to help her sew the garments. So at a very young age, I would sew, pack up and go to the flea markets with her.

Thoughts on the new Dodge Dart being a rebadged front-wheel-drive Alfa Romeo … OK, number one: I love rear-wheel drive, and I love all-wheel drive. I am NOT a front-wheel-drive kind of person. I think they were going after the tuner market, Hondas and the like, trying to capture that audience. But me, I love a good AWD or RWD, because of the whole nostalgic factor. Now, I do love the Challenger, I do love the new Charger and I do love the new Mustang. Again, because they harken back to the old. But when you take an old name like the “Dart” and you give it front-wheel drive, you lose the whole nostalgic element of it. I think you kill it that way.

Don't use the old name: Give it a new name and let it be what it is.

On owning non-nostalgic cars … I do have a Nissan GT-R. I went correct and got the bright red, tuned it with the Cobb system, added brand-new exhaust directly from Japan and a pair of BBS rims. It's full-out right now. Lot of carbon fiber, it's beautiful.

Time and effort put into the fleet of cars … I have about 10, between exotic and vintage. During the fall and winter, [my vintage ones] don't even get touched, because I live in New York/New Jersey. I'd rather wait until the salt is gone, until the potholes and roads are fixed, before I even go to the garage and attempt to do anything. The only sad part about it -- because, you know, a lot of them are carbureted -- is that it takes a lot of time to get them started and warmed up, and you really have to pump the gas. During the spring and summer, I work on them every Saturday and Sunday, tinkering -- changing the oil, rotating the tires, that kind of thing, just to get them ready in time for the coming season.

The cars start to become a part of the family. I have four kids, and each has developed a relationship with each car on their own. I have one son who says, “You know what? That's going to be my car when I get older.” And that's the car that you spend a lot of time with that son in, because he wants that car, learns that car, learns the sound and recognizes when something is going wrong.

Something about one of your cars that no one else knows … Sometimes, when I buy an old car, I like to take them apart, modify them -- not completely, but just upgrades. Once I was doing the wheel well on my AAR [1970] Cuda, and found an old egg roll. Perfectly preserved -- it was as hard as a rock. I know that this egg roll had to have been in there at the time of the assembly of the vehicle, because there's no way that you can put this in the wheel well. That was the oddest thing.

And you know what I did? I put that egg roll back in there.

On favoritism … My most prized possession is a 1970 all-black four-speed Hemi Road Runner. It's an all original, numbers-matching, radio-delete vehicle. Bench seat. Super rare. I bought it from a friend of mine in terrible condition. I had another friend from Minnesota strip it completely to the nuts and bolts, rebuilding the car for me exactly to its original specs.

On why going to Carlisle is family a tradition … It's a bonding experience with my sons. I go with my oldest son, and we go every year. We're talking about cars from all over the country. Getting to the garage, prepping the car, getting it on the trailer, going through the whole experience, trailering the car for hours on the road, getting there, going to the hotel, and seeing all the other cars and turning it on and having other people hear the roar of your engine -- in such a community -- with your son is the best experience. Driving around, seeing whose car is the most nostalgic or period correct -- right color, right bolts -- talking about your car with the next old fart … that's the best.

On diversity and acceptance at Carlisle and elsewhere … It's funny you ask. I had an experience this past year at Carlisle. There aren't many minorities there; you definitely find more at the tuner shows than anything else. That being said, I was at Carlisle, and I had my '70 Hemi Road Runner at the show. Obviously, most people are going to assume that it's fake. So, one day I was walking around, going to the swap meet, trying to find a hat. A guy comes up to me and says from the back, “Are you Blackbird?” I thought to myself, “Hold on, hold on one second.” At first I said, “What is this? A slur of some sort?” I got an attitude. “What?” Again, he said, “Are you blackbird?” I said, “Blackbird?” He said, “Do you own the black Hemi Road Runner?” I said, “Yea! I own the black Hemi Road Runner.”

He said, “Oh, you're Blackbird! I just want to congratulate you, I love your car. Everybody's been talking about it. And I guess you didn't know, but you've been being called Blackbird.” It's funny, because it's a black car and because it's a Road Runner, they came up with this nickname.

So I decided to change the license plate to “BLKBRD.”

How you see car culture and clothing culture as related … Back in the day -- not so much, today -- there was a certain, distinct look and style that was consistently worn within car culture. I can break it down into the '50s and I can break it down into the '70s.

In the '50s, hot-rodding, you were wearing cuffed jeans and a white T-shirt -- and a Barracuda jacket. Marlon Brando, that was the look, that rebel. You had on your motorcycle jacket and you wore that to the drag strip, or you did your suicide run. Or you had the greaser look, where the hair was really slicked back.

Now, if you move to the '70s, they had the denim vests, the core element of your look. That vest, cigarettes, curls, again, slick-backed hair, but now the name of your crew was embroidered on the back of your jacket. These jackets were called your “wings,” your flying wings. And that vest would indicate your club, the affiliation of your car, like your illegal street race car.

If you remember, in the movie “Two-Lane Blacktop,” in the beginning, when the credits start coming on, you see the car crews with their jean jackets on. Opening credits, you see a black guy with two flashlights, and he's running and he's got his wings on, and he's got his car club. That right there is the typical look of what an illegal street racer would have. His wings. Now, I actually own one of those original jackets and the car that raced in the movie -- the car that races in the beginning, it's a '69 Daytona, the orange one -- and the helmet. That's how much of a freak I am when it comes to that lifestyle, that culture.

On PRPS and its relationship to car culture … My biggest fit is called the Barracuda; I name all my jean fits based on vehicles. That's the best way. Due to the size of the car, it kind of goes back, makes it easier for the kids to learn and appreciate the old car, because the first thing he's going to do is Google it. “Why is it called the Barracuda? Why is this called a Rambler? Why is this called a Road Runner? Why is this called a Fury?” You know. It's my way of teaching, staying true to my hobby and my interests. Barracuda: straight fit. Demon: slim. Rambler: very skinny. Fury: very wedged and tapered.

On bringing back the good ol' days of name-branded luxury cars (e.g., Eddie Bauer and Ford, Nautica and Mercury) … I wish! If someone would come knock on my door, I'd love [to collaborate]. I don't know the car companies like that. I wish they would say, “Hey, you know what? Let's do a denim-inspired interior package.” I would love that. Definitely [if given the choice, I'd want to do it with] Mopar. But, if push comes to shove and someone is willing to come knock on my door, I'm willing to entertain it.

On being a fan of black cars … You know what it is. Something about a black car being this lone wolf, dark, cool -- I just like that. It's nothing like having an original black car stand out. It's not the same as the shiny, you know -- I call it the Skittles. Every time you go to a car show or car meet on the weekends, you see Skittleville -- red, yellow, blue, green. But I love when the right black car shows up with the right wheel combination.As a black guy, you can't help but notice it, because we're rare. We're rare. And a lot of car guys don't like black: the heat [it attracts], there's no air conditioning in some of these. But to be a black guy and show up with the right wheels and right exhaust? You look cool as...